


In This Moment The Battle Doesn’t Matter

by afteriwake



Series: Lingering Winter [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 11:12:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fighting means nothing to him now that Hinamori is injured.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In This Moment The Battle Doesn’t Matter

**Author's Note:**

> The series goes AU at chapter 392. This is touched on again later in the series, from Hisagi's point of view.

He forgot about Aizen, about everyone around him, about the fact that they were in the middle of a deadly battle which could very likely get them all killed. He looked in horror at his bloody sword and then back at Hinamori, who coughed up some more blood as she weakly said his name. He frantically searched for Unohana standing among the horrified Captains, Lieutenants and Vaizards. When he found her he moved towards her, heedless of the fact that he was leaving both himself and Hinamori open to an attack.

She moved towards him too and they got to a rooftop. Dimly he heard sounds, and vaguely recognized Soifon’s voice shouting at someone, but he didn’t care. He settled Hinamori on the roof, kneeling down and resting her head on his lap. Unohana quickly began to work on healing the grievous wound he’d inflicted on her, and he watched, all the time saying quietly that he was sorry, he was so very sorry, he hadn’t meant to hurt her, that he would never hurt her on purpose. He didn’t know if she heard him at first, until she moved her head slightly to look at him. He didn’t see sadness, or anger, or betrayal. He saw peacefulness, as though she was accepting that it was her time to die.

“You’ll live,” he said quietly, and when she shut her eyes again he worried that it was simply to let go of the pain and die. As Unohana worked on her the sound of fighting grew louder, and only then did he realize that everyone had once again gone after Aizen, and he should as well. The anger began to build in him, the sheer rage at being tricked into harming one of the people he needed most in the world starting to overcome him.

And then he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Ichigo standing next to him. The rage increased. He had been watching! Before he’d plunged his sword into Hinamori’s chest Ichigo should have said something. Being careful of Hinamori’s head, he lowered it to the ground and stood up, shaking Ichigo’s hand off his shoulder. “You,” he spat out. “You should have said something!”

Ichigo bowed his head slightly. “I know.”

Hitsugaya glared at him and then reached for his sword, which he had carelessly dropped to the ground next to him. “This time, you fight. You fight alongside us, and do not just stand on the sidelines.”

“You shouldn’t fight right now,” Ichigo said.

He got angrier. “I have every reason in the world to want Aizen dead right now!”

“He’ll kill you.”

Hitsugaya started to angrily retort back but a whimper from his side brought his attention back to Hinamori, who had reached over and grabbed his leg with a weak grip. He looked at her, and then back at Ichigo. “Kill him,” he said quietly.

Ichigo nodded once and then looked at Hinamori again. “I am sorry I didn’t stop you in time.”

“Save your apologies,” Hitsugaya said, moving slightly so Hinamori couldn’t hold onto his leg, and then sitting next to her and holding her hand gently in his. “They mean nothing to me right now. Just…kill him.”

Ichigo said nothing and left to join the renewed fray. Hitsugaya looked at Hinamori, who looked paler and more wan than usual, and then to Unohana. “You can save her?”

Unohana looked up from her task and then nodded. “But I need to use Minatzuki,” she said quietly. “You’ll have to let go of her hand.”

He hesitated and then let go, standing up again. He looked over at the fight. “I should be there,” he said quietly as Unohana released her shikai.

“Ichigo is right. He will kill you if you fight him right now,” she said as she moved next to him to let Minatzuki begin to work on Hinamori. “You are too full of anger. Let Ichigo fight this fight. Right now, it is best if you stay with myself and your friend.”

He continued to stare at the battle, which had become a one-on-one fight between Ichigo and Aizen. “If Aizen kills him, I _will_ try again to kill Aizen.”

“If that happens, Toushirou, then we all may need to fight today,” she said with a sigh, joining him in his observance of the battle. “Let us hope it does not come to that.”

He nodded slowly and cast a glance back at Minatzuki, hoping that when this war was over, and Aizen and Gin and the Arrancars were defeated, that Hinamori would forgive him, because until he had her forgiveness, he would blame himself until the end of his days.


End file.
